Human Adaptation to Middle Holocene Aridity in the Northwestern Great Basin: Coprolites and Season of Occupation at the Paisley Caves, Oregon

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The middle Holocene (9000–6000 cal BP) in the northwestern Great Basin is marked by warmer and drier conditions resulting in significant ecological change. There is archaeological evidence for population decline, highly mobile groups occupying temporary camps, and a focus on seasonally productive resources. Most sites are located on dunes or lake margins near water, and there is only ephemeral use of cave sites. Archaeological sites from this period are rare, so there is a paucity of information on how humans adapted to this significant period of climate change. This study focuses on the middle Holocene human coprolite record from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, and applies a seasonality model to investigate the season of occupation at the Paisley Caves during this period. This paper presents the results of fecal biomarker analysis demonstrating human origin for coprolites from the Paisley Caves, as well as plant macrofossil and microfossil analysis of coprolite contents to assess human diet and season of occupation. The results of this study suggest that subsistence activities at the Paisley Caves remained an important part of seasonal subsistence rounds during the middle Holocene as part of a broader adaptation to an arid climate.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37597.0